LAUNCHing Our Talents: 4th Annual Talent Show

Notsky in AI version of poster with added logos

 I should have written this before it was held, but at least, I can now write about how it went. On 1 October at the Palace Theatre in Eastwood, Launch CNY held their fourth annual LAUNCHing Our Talents fundraiser. It was a free show instead of selling tickets, one approach to getting bums in seats while still trying to raise money, even with several great sponsors and the support of the community. Instead, we had raffle tickets with baskets from different businesses, as well as sold brand licenced T-shirts, and I even bought one (she keeps everything). I had several drawings of Notsky displayed in the corridor, most of them tied to Arena, even though no one there knows who they are. Missus may have thought they were my band. I wish! We didn't even have a band, being relatively low budget; just video and backing tapes with a couple dads on acoustic guitar for two songs. Two of my colleagues were having some trouble up there. A handful of others listed in the programme ultimately were no-shows. I thought that maybe a stablemate from another agency would be attending, but he likely had rehearsals for his own professionally run musical downtown, but that's show business. There were covers of Queen, The Beatles, The Go-Gos, Taylor Swift, Neil Diamond, Mama Cass Elliott, and some country and newer artists I just don't know as well. There was some poetry and comedy thrown in, and a moving tribute to a client who had passed away this spring that I didn't know personally. It may have not have been the same calibre as the big name benefit concerts, of course. More like our own Amateur Night. It was nothing like Opportunity Knocks or New Faces, since no one was competing or looking for a career in the biz per se. By the end of the night, Launch had raised several hundred dollars. I'm not sure what the totals are, since it's a non-profit organisation. If you couldn't make it, you can contribute anytime. There should also be a link to the show, which was streamed and recorded, given that last year was so we could dedicate this years to missus. Her art was also in the lobby, likely provided by her family. We should start planning again by late spring/early summer, even if one place we work with do the same thing with one of their annual events not long after. Already looking forward to the next one, even if I may be somewhere else by that stage (no pun intended). It was my first time at the Palace since just under a decade with BeatleCuse Deux-Over where I met Denny Laine and got his autograph, even though I'm just blocks away, the Palace has become another tribute band cabaret lately, but that's a whole other post. Not to say that talent shows aren't too far from Lizas old film in a way.